Has anyone gotten Hindsight working with external Postgres + non-root Docker under OpenClaw without fatal verify_connection() startup exit?

[kyletusing34]

I’m running OpenClaw on a VPS and moved Hindsight into a non-root Docker container to avoid embedded PG/root initdb issues.

Current setup:

• Hindsight in Docker (UID 1000)
• external Postgres on host
• valid OpenAI API key
• gpt-4o-mini
• https://api.openai.com/v1

I verified the OpenAI key works directly via curl, but Hindsight still exits during verify_connection() on startup instead of staying up.

Before I keep digging:

• Is there a known working config for this pattern?
• Is there a way to disable fatal startup verification?
• Has anyone used a simpler model/provider for the verification step successfully?

I’m opening a matching issue as well, but would love to know if there’s already a field-tested workaround.

[nicoloboschi]

Hi, are you using the official docker image? https://hindsight.vectorize.io/developer/installation#docker

we also have these example to follow https://github.com/vectorize-io/hindsight/blob/main/docker/docker-compose/external-pg/docker-compose.yaml